I hate noise! Don’t take peace and quiet for granted!
I AM REALLY damn tired of noise.
The back story. About 10 years ago when the apartment complex I live in was built they somehow failed to put in proper rain shield between the interior walls and the exterior siding. As a result several units have suffered serious water intrusion over the years.
This past Spring they decided to do something about it. They began a project that would include ripping down 40 some balconies and tearing up a mess of ground level patios on the interior courtyard where the swimming pool, firepit, grills are.
It was a mess. They failed to get the proper building permit. Communication with tenants was corporate-speak. They said it would take a few weeks. As we moved into June they realized they had a mess of upset residents to put it on hold until Oct. 1 so the pool could be opened.
Along the way fears of black mold have developed, answers have been sketchy and a lot of us, while still liking where we live, no longer are signing the place’s praises.
The crews returned to work Oct. 1 and started on my side of the courtyard. Balconies came down, my patio was ripped up. For the past few weeks construction has literally been on my doorstep. Saws saw, cranes lift and drop, hammers point, the back-up beep-beeps on equipment ring out, all the dogs in the complex go berserk.
Meanwhile I try to sit at a computer and think. I try to read and concentrate. I try to nap.
The work has to be done. No debate. But it looks like until sometime next year I will have zero quality of life during the day. The company is going to compensate me…..not. Tough.
So I am damn tired of noise. As a I type this it is going up and down, from a crescendo of all sorts of equipment being put to use to men hollering, music playing and from time to time down to just background noise.
Do not take peace and quiet for granted.
Rich Heiland is a retired journalist and semi-retired consultant, trainer and public speaker. During his journalism career he was a reporter, editor, publisher, college instructor, part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team and a National Newspaper Association Columnist of the Year honoree. He also writes the intodementia.com blog about his family’s experience with dementia. He lives in West Chester, PA and can be reached at [email protected].
Noise canceling headphones!!